Pandemic Crisis

Undoubtedly, dear reader, you or a member of your immediate circle of friends and relations have been afflicted by an all-too-common ailment. The ailment I will now describe for you generally remains dormant, and most people are carriers, though they seldom know it. However, this condition typically rears its ugly head at the most inconvenient times, waylaying plans and making the completion of tasks difficult. This disease tends to flourish in the springtime, as the icy chill of winter begins to fade (and the icy chill of Colorado in April snaps us out of that tantalizing Indian spring). However, springtime is not the only time of year when it arrives.

Thanksgiving break is over; December is just around the corner; and I've got less than four weeks left of my last class of my Master's degree program. I'm absolutely unmotivated. I have just one real project left to complete in this 18 month program. I'm just weeks away from completing all of the "higher" education I ever plan on participating in. I'm a few short keystrokes away from acquiring the diploma that will move me up and over on the payscale. I'm just...

And yet, here I sit, at 4:00 in the morning, typing away at my blog, suffering from senioritis. You'd think that all these years working in education would have immunized me against its effects, but I guess it was just in remission.

Welcome Back, Ricky!!!

It's official: the NFL has decided that its own rules aren't worth following. It doesn't matter if you violate the substance abuse policy (again). It doesn't matter if you've been relegated to Canada (a virtual penal colony for NFL players). As long as you are a talented, strong athlete with an indestructable ego, you can do whatever you want without repercussions.

But don't worry, the American Public is also in line with this mode of thinking (at least 69% of the 35,000+ voters in an online poll), and are ready to have thier favorite dope-smoking running back (and mine) back into the league so that your sons (and mine) can acknowlege the awesome power that is the hero worship of American religion.

So, Ricky Williams, welcome back.

Just Deserts

D20 School Board Member Doug Lundberg, Colorado Commissioner of Education Dwight Jones, and Pine Creek Math Teacher Michael Arsenault

I don't want to go on a super rant about how teachers are underpaid and underappreciated, so here's a story about one teacher who is getting the recognition he so deserves.

Yesterday, at a student body assembly, Pine Creek High School math teacher Michael Arsenault was awarded the Milken Family Foundation's 2007 Educator Award. Only 7 people in the building knew who was receiving the award, and Mr. Arsenault was not among them. When the representative from the Milken Family Foundation announced the recipient, Mr. Arsenault was speechless, and the school's principal, Todd Morse, ran to him and hugged him, finally relieved of the burden of knowing the secret but being unable to tell anyone.

I'm not going to say I'm underpaid; I've got a mortgage my family can afford even with two kids and only one real income (I hesitate to use the word legitimate as that would imply that the other incomes are illicit); we always have food on the table and in the pantry and in the fridge; we have two cars that both work and are paid for; we've got really everything we need.

So since teachers are not underpaid (objectively), I will say that yesterday's recognition of an awesome, influential teacher is an example of something that should happen more often, even if there isn't a big check involved. So, track down the email or physical address of a teacher who influenced you, and let them know you appreciate him.